Pakistan court upholds Afridi ban

A court on Thursday upheld a Pakistani decision to revoke permission for former captain Shahid Afridi to play abroad, adjourning until June 16 the hearing of his petition against the Cricket Board.

Afridi went to court after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) punished him for allegedly breaching a code of conduct by announcing his retirement, after he was dumped as one-day captain, and levelling allegations against the board.

It suspended his central contract, revoked all his no-objection certificates (NOCs) which would have allowed him to play in England and Sri Lanka and served him with a show-cause notice last week.

"The court has adjourned the hearing until June 16 and has upheld the decision of the PCB to revoke NOCs for Shahid Afridi," PCB lawyer Tafazzul Rizvi told AFP after board officials were summoned to the court in Karachi.

The slanging match between Afridi and Pakistani managers has rocked the game, still reeling from the aftermath of a spot-fixing scandal which ended in lengthy bans on Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer.

A large number of Afridi's fans gathered outside the court, holding up banners in support of the former star all-rounder.

"Re-instate Afridi," said one. "Sack PCB chairman Ijaz Butt" and "Punishments against Afridi illegal", said two others. Much to the fans' disappointment, Afridi did show up at court.

"We have come here in Afridi's support and feel that Pakistan cricket is incomplete without him," said Zaib Khan, a factory worker who skipped work to attend.

On Tuesday, the Sindh high court ordered the PCB to adjourn a disciplinary committee meeting, before which Afridi was ordered to appear this week, and summoned PCB officials to appear in court on Thursday.

Afridi's petition was filed after Pakistan coach Waqar Younis and manager Intikhab Alam described him as "immature and unwilling to listen" in tour reports leaked to the media and published in the Dawn newspaper on Tuesday.

"The decision means there is status quo on the case and we have been asked to submit a detailed reply to the petition filed by Afridi," said Rizvi.

He said the punishment was included in the central contract that Afridi had signed, a claim contradicted by Afridi's lawyer Syed Ali Zafar.

"The sanctions are not under the central contract and that's what we have pleaded," said Zafar, who denied Afridi's sole aim in going to court was to seek permission to play abroad.

"We are against the disciplinary proceedings, which we have successfully adjourned, and the court has given us the right to claim for monetary losses suffered due to Afridi not being able to play in England," said Zafar.